Liquid cooler including control apparatus for limiting ice formation thereon



Jan. 18, 1949. E. c. RANEY vLIQUID COOLER INCL UDING CONTROL APPARATUSv FOR LIMITING ICE FORMATION THEREON Filed June 1, 1945 INVENTOR EJTEL BRANEY BY I FKTQRNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIQUID COOLER INCLUDING CONTROL AP- FOR LIMITING ICE FORMATION Estel C. Rancy, Delaware, Ohio, assignor to Ranco gilciorporated, Columbus, Ohio, a corporation of Application June 1, 1945, Serial No. 597,040

4 Claims. (Cl. 627) 1 V. -2

The present invention relates to refrigerating -and having thermostatic means for preventing apparatus and more particularly to the method the stopping of the cooling phase of -the cycle of contro1-and control mechanism for forming of the apparatus when the ice bank about 'the' and maintaining an ice bank in a tank of liquid. absorber diminishes beyond that desired;

One of the objects of the present invention is 5 A still further object of the present invention to provide a method of and apparatus for control is to provide a control for starting and stopping for a refrigerating system having a heat absorber the cooling operation of an electrically operated for cooling water in a storage tank of the type refrigerating system which comprises" a device,- used, as for example, in milk coolers or drinkresponsive to the temperature of theheat ab-' ing water coolers, which method comprises establ sorber of a refrigerating system which actuates lishing temperature variation cycles in the heat a switching member in response to predeter absorber, while the temperature of the liquid in mined high and low temperature limits of the '1 the tank is below a Ce ta te pe consistabsorber while it is immersed in the liquid in the ing of cooling and warming phases. The temtank and a second device responsive to the temperature of the absorber is maintained below perature, approximating the freezing tempera-- the freezing point of the liquid in the tank so as ture of the liquid in the tank, for arresting the to freeze an ice bank about the heat absorber. movement of the. switching member in the switch When water is employed in the tank, and under opening direction if too much ice is melted .off the most favorable conditions, the cooling phase of the evaporator, the arresting continuing until of the heat absorber is started when the temthe ice bank has been re-established to that perature of the heat absorber attains approxiamount desired. mately 28 F. and ceases when the temperature Other and further objects'and advantages will of the evaporator -is reduced to approximately be apparent from the following description, ref- F.; the warming phase, continues during the erence being had to the accompanying drawing period that the heat absorber temperature rises 25 wherein a preferred embodiment of the present from 25 to 28. However, if the ice bank diinvention is clearly shown.

minishes to a certain amount, as for example, In the drawing: v when a large quantity of milk cans are placed in Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a refrigeratthe liquid or if water is consumed in large quaning system and a control therefor, the control hetities, the method includes causing the cooling :10 ing shown in the position that it assumes when phase to be extended and continued until. the the coolin phase is to beextended due to'the desirable ice bank is re-established.- v fact that ice bank is too small and the heat ab- 1 Another object of the present invention is to sorber itself is above the temperature atfwhich provide control apparatus for a refrigerating sys it functions normally to interrupt the electrical tern of the type described above, in which the circuit and stop the refrigerating cooling phaseij,"v apparatus responds solely to the temperature of Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the control the heat absorber to initiate a cooling phase. of showing the same in a position in which the heat the heat absorber when the temperature of the absorber has been cooled to the temperaturea I v heat absorber has risen to a point slightly below which normally the control jfunctionstoint the melting point of ice, and to terminate the 41) rupt the electrical circuit, the controller' bei cooling phase when the heat absorber has reached shown as being arrested in its circuit open g a lower predetermined temperature while a preposition due to thefact that ice bankis'toosmall; determined amount of ice is formed about the -Fig. 3 is a view similarto Fig;"2-'but-- showing heat absorber, said control apparatus also being the position of the control-when the-switch is responsive to a temperature, approximating the i open; and 1 freezing temperature of the liquid, at a point Fig; 4 is 'a fragmentary sectional view taken slightly spaced from the absorber and within on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. the liquid, for extending the cold phase of the The broad principles embodied inthe present heat absorber when the ice bank about the heat invention are disclosed in th p t t O absqrber diminishes below the desirable size, and aney O- 2, s d c r for terminating the extended cold phase of the and the control per se is fully disclosed in the operation of the heat absorber when the ice patent to E. D. Raney No.- 2,337,926, issuedDebank has been re-established to the desired size. cember 28, 1943.

A further object of this invention is to provide Referring to the accompa y g a a ta control apparatus for a refrigerating system, such is Shown at 20 which y be of the yp for as that described above, in which the control taining liquid such as water in which a series, of apparatus is normally operative to control the m k n 2| a wh y r p r y mme ed. The system to start and stop the cooling phases of liquid level s indicated by he n s 2 I the refrigerating cycle, solely in response to a It is desirablefip maintain an'ice'bank i predetermined temperature of the heat absorber iq i to accommodate P l s r ample, when a large number of cans of milk are placed in thetank. To accomplish this, the heat absorber 24 is immersed in the liquid and is main tained below the freezing point of the liquid so as to form the ice bank thereabout. Any type of ice making refrigerating system includinga coil 26 through a pipe 28 to the low pressure side v 28 of a compressor 38. The compressed refrigerant is delivered by a pipe 3| to a condenser 82 and a receiver 83, whence it is conducted by a w pipe 34to a pressure reducing device 85 and from the pressure reducing device to the coil 28 by a pipe 38 Any suitable type of pressure reducing device may be employed and the device herein shown. is what is known as a thermostatically controlled expansion valve which is not only responsive to pressure within the coil 28, but is also responsive to the temperature at the outlet of the coil 28 for the purpose of preventing liquid refrigerant returning to the low pressure side of the compressor. The thermostatic bulb 88 is connected to the outlet of the coil 25 and this bulb 38 is connected to the expansion valve 35 by a small diameter tube 88.

The compressor may be controlled in any suitable manner and is herein shown as driven by an electric motor 4| through pulley 42, belt 48 and pulley 44. The circuit for the motor may be traced as follows: wire 46. stationary contact 41, movable contact 48, stationary contact '49, wire 50. motor 4|, and 'wire Two thermostatic systems are employed for controlling the operation of the motor. One

j ments'84, 81, 1| and springs form a snap act'- ing mechanism'ior contact 48 and these parts are held in cooperative position by the tension imparted thereto by said spring.

Movement of thelever to the right is arrested,

at times, by either oftwo abutments 8| and 82.

When the movement of the lever 18 to the right is not arrested by abutments 8| and 82, lever 18 will be moved by spring 18 to the right so that the upper part of the spring 15 will move the snap acting mechanism beyond its dead center position to quickly'separate contact 48 from contacts 41 and 48. Obviously, when the switch is open and the lever 18 is moved to the left, a predetermined distance, the snap acting mechanism will quickly close contact 48 upon contacts 41 and of these thermostatic systems 53 includes a-bellows 54,-a small diameter tube 55 and a bulb 58 The bulb 56 is clamped tightly against a portion of the evaporator by a suitable clamp 51 sothat the temperature of the bulb 55 approximates the temperature of the plate 25. The other thermostatic system 59 includes a bellows 68, a small diameter tube El and a bulb 62. .By referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the bulb s2 is spaced from the plate 25 of the evaporator 24. Both systems 53 and 58 contain volatile fluid for the purpose of expanding and contracting the bellows 54 and 88 in response to increase and decrease in temperature of the bulbs 58 and 82, respectively.

The switch for actuating the movable contact 48 isof the snap acting type and comprises a lever 64 which carries the movable contact 48. Swinging movement of the lever 54 is confined between contacts 41, 49 and a stop 85. The upper end of this lever is provided with a knife edge bearingwhich bears in the V notch of a stationary bearing 58. Lever 64 is provided with an upright extension 81 having a downwardly extending knife. edgebearing 88 at the top thereof which bears in the V notch 10 of a downwardly extending lever 1|. Lever 1| carriestwo fingers 12 and 13 which straddle the lever 54. The lower end of a coil spring 15 is connected to the lever 1i intermediate the bases of fingers 12 and 13 and the upper end of the spring is connected with a lever 15. Lever is fulcrumed on a stationary pin' 11 and is constantly urged toward the right by a-spring 18"which is anchored at 80. Ele- When the load conditions on the refrigerating system are most favorable, abutment 8| will be retracted to the position shown in Fig. 3 under which condition the spring 18 can move the lever 15 to switch opening position. It will also be noted that atthis time the abutment 82 is retracted for the freeoperation of lever 18. The abutment 82 is moved to and fro by a lever 84 which is also pivoted at 11, the abutment 82' being carried by an arm 88 .on the lever. The movable end of the bellows 54 carries a pin 85 which is arranged to move the lever 84 and abutment 82 in a counterclockwise direction, upon expansion of the bellows, so as to move the switch operating lever 15 to the left. counterclockwise movement of the lever 84 by the bellows 54 is counteracted by a spring 81. The tension of this spring 81 can be regulated by ascrew 88 so as to adjust the pressure at which the bellows 54 cause closing action of the switch. The head of the screw 88 abuts a stationary plate 98 and the shank of the screw is threaded into a spring retaining plate 8|. The head of screw 88 carries an adjusting knob 83. By increasing the pressure on the spring 81, higher pressure must be attained in bellows.

54 before it can move lever 15 to switch closing" able conditions, in which the abutment 8| does not arrest the movement of the lever 16, the

starting and stopping of the compressor motor are controlled solely by the thermostatic system 53. That is, when the temperature of the evaporator 24 attains a predetermined high value, the circuit to the motor will be closed and when the temperature of the evaporator has been decreased to a predetermined low temperature, the circuit to the motor is interrupted. When water is contained within the tank 28, the spring 81 is adjusted so that the switch closes the motor circuit when the temperature of the evaporator attains 28 F. and interrupts the circuit to the motor when the temperature of the evaporator is at approximately 25 F. In this manner an ice bank is maintained about the evaporator 24.

In the event of an abnormal or peak load on the ice bank, as for example, when water is being used and warm water is being delivered to the tank, or in the event that a large number of milk cans are placed within the tank, the ice, indicated at I03 in Fig. 4, begins to melt and the temperature of bulb 62 will rise. This increase in temperature at the bulb 62 will cause expansion of bellows 60, causing the abutment 8| to be moved to the position shown in Fig. 1. Abutment 8| is carried by an arm 94 of a lever 95. This lever 95 is pivoted ona stationary pin 96. A pin 98 on the bottom side of bellows 60 engages the arm 99 of lever 95 and normally tends to turn lever 95 in a clockwise direction. The extent of clockwise movement of the lever 9|! is arrested by a stop Hill. A spring I02 imparts a counteracting force to the bellows Hi. The tension of this spring I02 can be adjusted in the same manner as defined with respect to spring 81.

From the foregoing it can be seen that when the temperature of the bulb 62 is above a predetermined temperature, the bellows 60 will have moved the abutment 8| into the path of movement of the lever 16 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Under this condition, the lever 16 cannot move the snap acting mechanism to the circuit interrupting position thereof and, consequently the cooling phase of the refrigerating cycle will continue until this condition is alleviated. At this time, the control is in the position shown in Fig. 2. The spring 79 is insumcient to overcome the pressure exerted by the bellows 60. It will also be observed, from Fig. 2, that the temperature of the evaporator has decreased to below the temperature at which, normally, the spring 81 and spring 19 open the circuit of the motor. Levers 84 and 16 being separate elements, bellows 54' may contract without affecting the condition imposed by the bellows 60. This is also clearly shown in Fig. 2 wherein the abutment 82 has been removed from engagement with the lever 75. The refrigerator compressor will continue to operate until the ice bank increases so as to contact or approach contacting of bulb 62, at which time, the temperature of the bulb 82 will be decreased sufliciently to cause a suflicient recession in the pressure in bellows 60 so as to permit the spring I02 to move the lever 95 in a counterclockwise direction and remove the abutment 8| from arresting position. This permits clockwise movement of the lever 16. After the lever 95 has moved a predetermined distance in a counterclockwise direction, carrying with it the abutment 8|, the spring 19 will move the lever 16 to impart a snap acting opening movement to the snap switch whereby the circuit to the motor is interrupted.

By reason of the present invention, a relatively small compressor and driving motor only are necessary since ice can be stored or manufactured and stored during periods of small demands and this ice together with the refrigerating effect of the evaporator during the operation of the compressor are sufl'icient to satisfy the expected peak loads. In the preferred embodiment, the type of evaporator employed is one in which only a relatively small amount ,of liquid refrigerant space is provided in the evaporator as distinguished from the so called "flooded type. The reason for this is that when only a small amount of liquid refrigerant is contained in the evaporator, the temperature thereof rises quickly during the period of idleness of the compressor and in this manner the compressor is started and stopped more often with the result that the heat load afl'ecte the temperature of the evaporator quickly and consequently the starting of the compressor is sensitive to the immediate heat load upon the refrigerating system.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within'the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A refrigerating system, comprising in combination, a tank containing liquid; a heat absorber disposed in said liquid; means for supplying a cooling fluid to the heat absorber in response to a predetermined temperature of the absorber and for terminating the supply of cooling fluid flowing to the absorber in response to a lower temperature of the'heat absorber, said lower temperature being below the freezing point of the liquid; and means disposed within the liquid and spaced from the heat absorber and 'responsive to the temperature of the liquid at the spaced point from the heat absorber for preventing termination of the supply of cooling fluid flowing to said absorber until the temperature of the liquid at said point is lowered to a temperature approximating freezing temperature (if the liquid.

2. The method of operating a refrigeration system, including a heat absorber immersed in a body of a normally liquid medium and a circulator connected to said absorber to supply refrigerant thereto, said method comprising controlling the operation of said circulator by variations in the temperature of said absorber as long as the medium, at a predetermined point spaced from the heat absorber, is in the solid phase and causing the presence of the medium in liquid phase at said point to cause operation of the circulator until the liquid is converted at said point into the solid phase.

3. The method of operating a refrigerating system, including a heat absorber through which a refrigerant is circulated and which heat absorber is immersed in a body of normally liquid medium, said method comprising controlling the cooling function of circulating refrigerant on the heat absorber in response to variations in temperature of said absorber as long as the medium, at a predetermined point spaced from the heat absorber, is in the solid phase and causing the presence of the medium in liquid phase at said point to increase the cooling function of the refrigerant on the absorber until the liquid is com verted at said point into the solid phase.

4. A refrigerating system, comprising in combinatioh, a tank containing a body of normally liquid medium; a heat absorber disposed in said medium; means for circulating a cooling fluid through the heat absorber; and control means for controlling the cooling function of the circulating cooling fluid on the heat absorber in response to variations in temperature of said absorber as long as the medium, at a predetermined point spaced from the heat absorber, is in the solid state, said control means including means responsive to the temperature of the medium at said point, when the medium is in liquid phase, for increasing the cooling function of the cooling fluid on the heat absorber until the medium is converted at said point into a solid phase. ESTEL .C. RANEY.

No references cited. 

